These healthy burger bowls with special sauce are the perfect way to get your burger fix with even more fresh veggies and flavor. These bowls are so easy to make, use only real food ingredients, and the delicious “special sauce” dressing pulls everything together. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, Paleo-friendly, and low carb.
Healthy Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
Burger bowls or “burger salads” were one of the first meals that I regularly made when I switched to a Paleo lifestyle. Years later they are still my absolute favorite thing. Honestly, the burger bun just gets in the way at this point.
These healthy burger bowls with special sauce are packed with all the classic burger toppings and can easily be customized to add even more veggies and toppings. A delicious creamy special sauce ties everything together so you get that perfect burger bite.
Serve your healthy burger bowls with a side of crispy homemade air fryer to French fries or roasted potato wedges with chipotle lime aioli for the ultimate weeknight meal that is Paleo friendly, Whole30 compliant, and so GOOD.
More Reader Favorite Burger Recipes
Flavorful Ground Beef for Delicious Burger Bowls
When it comes to the ground beef in these burger bowls you have a few options. You can go the traditional route and serve your burger bowl with a burger patty or crumble the ground beef as shown here. Both are great options and there is really no “wrong” way. With either option you are going to get perfectly seasoned and flavorful ground beef.
Here are a couple of tips and tricks:
- If you decide to make burger patties you can easily melt sliced or shredded cheese on each patty like you would with a traditional burger.
- Making burger patties is a great option if not everyone wants to go the burger bowl route. You can make both traditional burgers and burger bowls with the patties.
- If you crumble the beef, be sure to drain any excess fat from the meat or use a slotted spoon to remove it from the pan before adding it to the bowls.
- Don’t overcook your beef! There’s nothing worse than dry, tough hamburger meat.
- Don’t love ground beef? You could easily make this recipe with ground turkey!
The Best Burger Bowl Toppings
Next to the juicy ground beef, the toppings are really the best part of any burger. These burger bowls keep things a bit classic and use delicious toppings like:
- Fresh tomato
- Tangy pickles
- Red onion
- Herby dill
Of course, you can get even more creative with your toppings! What is great about burger bowls is that there is plenty of room for even more fresh toppings.
Here are a few more topping ideas to try:
- Crispy bacon
- Grilled veggies like zucchini, peppers, and onions
- Creamy avocado
- Shredded carrots
- Shredded cabbage
- Fresh or pickled hot peppers like jalapeños or pepperoncinis
- Mushrooms
- Shredded cheese
- A fried egg
- Fresh herbs like dill or parsley
- Sliced green onion
How to Make the “Special Sauce”
Since these are burger bowls, there is no place to spread on your favorite condiments like mayonnaise, ketchup, or mustard. So instead, this recipe using a special sauce, that includes all three, as the “dressing” for the burger bowls.
Special Sauce Ingredients
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Yellow mustard
- Pickle juice
- Dill relish
- Spices and seasonings
To make the sauce, add all of the ingredients to a small mixing bowl and stir until they are well combined. Remember, you can always adjust a recipe to fit your tastebuds! If you want a little more tang in the dressing add more pickle juice. Want more mustard flavor? Add a little more. Do not be afraid to get in there and make this your own!
If you are concerned about making sure this recipe stays Whole30 compliant, be sure to check the labels on your ingredients before using them to make the sauce. You will want to use a Whole30 compliant mayonnaise, ketchup, and dill relish in this recipe to keep it Whole30 friendly.
More Delicious Recipes to Love
- Chicken Bacon Avocado Chopped Salad
- Greek Turkey Burgers
- Homemade Honey Mustard Sauce
- Healthy Homemade Chicken Nuggets
- Whole30 Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Beef Burrito Bowls
I hope you give these Healthy Burger Bowls a try! This makes a quick and easy dinner that everyone will love!
If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.
Print
Healthy Burger Bowls with Special Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Lunch + Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Healthy burger bowls with special sauce are the perfect way to get your burger fix with even more fresh veggies and flavor. These bowls are so easy to make, use only real food ingredients, and the delicious “special sauce” dressing pulls everything together. This recipe is Whole30 compliant, Paleo-friendly, and low carb.
Ingredients
For the Burger Meat
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For the Salad
- Romaine lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Pickles
- Red onion
Special Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- 1 tablespoon dill relish
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and spices. Brown the beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until it is fully cooked through.
- While the beef is browning, make the special sauce. Add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until well combined.
- Assemble your burger bowls. Start with romaine lettuce then add the toppings and cooked ground beef. Drizzle the special sauce over everything and then enjoy!
Why have I never thought to do this before? Thanks Ashlea for this awesome recipe! It is SO dang good and simple…will definitely be making it again and again
Haha! You’re so welcome, Corie! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review.
These were super
Good! My family really enjoyed them!
Yay! So happy everyone loved the recipe, Beatrice!
This salad is just as easy to prepare as it is delicious! I looked up at my husband last night and said, omg it’s so good I don’t even miss the hamburger bun. Meanwhile, he was *this close* to licking his plate bc the special sauce is THAT GOOD. Thanks for such a simple, flexible and delicious recipe!
Hahaha! You’re so welcome, Kate! Happy everyone loved it!
This recipe is so delicious and so quick!! We’re totally adding this to our regular line up!
Happy to hear that, Caitlin!
YUM! This was super flavorful and very easy to cook up after a busy Monday! We loved the special sauce so much and this really snuck in extra greens 🙂 this was my first recipe of yours and I can’t wait to try more!
So happy you loved it, Gabbie!
I tried this the other night, and let me tell you…has to be one of the top 3 salads I’ve had in my LIFE. Seriously SO TASTY. I’m not an onion eater, so I thru on some wildbrine sauerkraut in addition to tomatoes, pickles, and some leftover breakfast potatoes for kicks. Topped with a cut up burger and the special sauce…this was one delicious salad that I will be making on the reg. Thanks so much for sharing!!
You’re so welcome, Catie! So happy to hear you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. -xo
I love different types of bowls and it did not cross my mind to do a burger bowl until following All the Healthy Things. So delicious!! The sauce was my favorite part!
Loved this recipe! I grilled my onions and it reminded me of In & Out Burger protein style! Love it. 🙂
We made this the other night and inhaled it so quickly we forgot to take pictures. We aren’t currently strictly paleo (or Whole30), but this was delicious enough to completely satisfy our burger cravings! The beef seasonings were delicious (better than some burgers we’ve had), and the special sauce… Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm! And it came together SO quickly! This will be a regular week-night staple. It would be easy to turn this into a “grilled chicken [sandwich] bowl” or something similar—the sauce makes it. Can’t wait to make it again!
My husband made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Didn’t miss the bun at all. Thanks you!
Loved this recipe! It was delicious and the whole family loved it. Thanks so much!
Made these the other night and will definitely be making again! I made mine as a burger since my fiance wasn’t sure if he’d like it over salad. Next time he said he’s excited to try as the “burger bowl”!
These burger bowls are SO good! The meat is tasty and we loved the sauce. Will definitely be a regular meal throughout the summer! I added sliced avocado to it as well.
Love this recipe!! New go-to salad for the summer! Usually salads aren’t “filling”, but this is so satisfying!
This salad is AMAZING! So fresh and SO flavorful!! My husband is obsessed. Adding this to our summer dinner rotation ASAP!
SO.GOOD. Bless you, this salad, and this SAUCE!!